Cupcake
by Queen of Spiritual
Summary: Stephanie spends the day with Joe once again, but she is bored as usual. She comes up with an idea and Joe agrees. Would this be screwed up? Ranger will get a surprise.
1. Chapter 1

"Okay. What do you think we should do today? Any suggestions?"

Stephanie Plum was getting bored one day. She couldn't think of anything to do today. She was with Joe.

"Why don't we make some cupcakes? You look like one," he told her.

He's told her this joke several times, and she never liked it, and still doesn't, even until today.

Even when she and Joe had known each other since they were kids, he had always called her Cupcake. She never really cared if he called her that.

"Why would you want to bake cupcakes for? You should know by now I don't cook or bake."

"We can do it together and give it to Ranger," he said and laughed at the same time.

"You know by now he doesn't like sweets. It never works. I would love to try again, but I don't plan to give up."

"Bad idea then. We could ask him if he would like to come over and watch us."

"That won't work, Joe. I can try and invite him anyway. I have an idea."

He looked at her. He hoped this would be good, and it turned out he was right.

"Since he really doesn't care for sweets, why don't we make carrot cupcakes instead of just chocolate itself? Maybe he might even like it," Stephanie suggested.

"That's not a bad idea, Cupcake. Do you want to get started now?"

"I don't have the ingredients here to do that. Your house is better than my place here."

"We'll drive to my house then. I think we have to visit the grocery store first. I don't have much of anything if we're going to make cupcakes."

"Let's head on over," Stephanie agreed and followed him out the door.

The two of them didn't say much while he was driving to the grocery store. Stephanie was telling herself she hoped Ranger would like this surprise.

To tell the truth, they both ran into Ranger when they walked in the store.

"Hello, Babe. It's quite a surprise to see you here. Are you showing any interest in trying something new today?"

"Batman, you probably figured it out right. I am trying something new. My parents don't even know what this new thing is about."

"I'd better get going, Babe. See you later. I would like to hear what this new interest you have soon."

"You might. My folks don't need to know or getting involved in this. Right, Joe?"

"That's exactly right, Cupcake. Let's find what we need. I am almost done with my milk. I will do that today. Let's go there now."

"Batman, mind if I ask you something?"

"What's that, Babe? You know you can ask me anything."

"Would you like to stop by Joe's house later?"

"What for?" he asked.

"Just to hang out for a while. Are you doing anything?"

"Not now. I don't have anything going on. I guess I can come. What time do you want me over to your place?" Ranger asked him.

"Let's say between five – thirty? Would you do that or come at a later time?"

"Let's see what it looks like. I will let you know when I call. How does that sound?"

"That can work too. We will look forward to hearing what your answer should be."

That's when they watched him walk away from them.

"That was close. Let's start finding what we will need and get out of here."

He agreed. They both made a quick trip inside the store and then went back to his place.

"Let's get started, Cupcake. Let's see what you can do."

"Are you still wanting me to do this myself or we can do it together like you suggested earlier?"

"We can do it together. It works best for me that way. It won't hurt to try again. Let's get right if it's turning the way we can see where we are going with this."

Stephanie saw that she was right.


	2. Chapter 2

So Ranger showed up like he said he would. He was still interested in what his babe was up to this time.

He showed up right on time like they wanted him to arrive. So he rang the doorbell.

It didn't take him long enough to wait until someone opened up and let him in. Joe was the one who let him in this time.

"Hello, Joe."

"Hello to you also, Ranger. Why don't you come in and help yourself to a seat?"

Joe closed the door when he walked in his house.

"Thank you for inviting me tonight. Do you have any salad for me to eat tonight?"

"No, I do not. I have kiwi, bananas, tomatoes, and carrots. You can probably make it into a fruit salad."

"That's not a bad idea. Maybe I will do that. It's something easy."

Ranger didn't see Stephanie at all.

"Where's Stephanie?"

"Paying a visit to Lula. She said she should be home shortly."

"I was a bit surprised when I ran into you two at the store. I have never seen that until now. Have you two ever done that before?"

Joe shook his head.

"This is the first time that's happened, so it was something new."

"So I noticed. Did she tell her folks about that?"

"No," was the answer.

"Do you want to tell me or do I have to be surprised?"

"Surprise is the better word."

"Fine with me. I think I will just sit down for a while. I can help myself to a glass of water while I am waiting."

"You're the guest. Let me do it."

Ranger didn't bother to say anything this time.

He kept on trying how to guess what Stephanie has been doing, but so far he hasn't come up with anything. Just be surprised instead, he told himself.

Note: Sorry if this chapter was a bit short, but that's how it was written. Enjoy


	3. Chapter 3

Note: I know it's been a while since I updated this story, but I have been working on other fanfics and original stories. Feel free to check out my original stories at fictionpress under the same name.

Joe and Ranger watched Stephanie shut the door behind herself.

"Am I late?" Stephanie asked.

"No," Joe answered.

"I see you made it back, Babe."

She got closer to both men. They both gave her a hug and kiss. She returned it.

"Joe and I discussed about what we should do for supper tonight."

"What is it?"

She was surprised she wasn't there to agree what they were having. If she wasn't with Lula, she would know by now what they would be eating.

"May I talk to you alone, Joe?"

"What is it, Cupcake?" he asked once they walked into the kitchen, leaving Ranger in the living room.

"We should make those cupcakes before we eat. What do you say about that?" Stephanie asked.

Joe saw her point.

"I forgot about those cupcakes. We mostly talked about what the menu was for tonight."

"What did you agree on?" Stephanie asked.

He told her. She agreed.

"All right, Stephanie. We will make those cupcakes before we sit down and eat. I haven't said a word about the surprise to him once."

"Good. If you did say something about it, the cupcakes would be a ruined surprise."

"I understand. I know you wouldn't be very happy if I did give it away."

While still in the living room, Ranger couldn't catch anything what his babe and Joe were talking about. Whatever it is, it's none of his business. So he continued to stay out of it.

He could hear them, but was seated on the couch while his babe and Joe were talking.

"I will be right back, Cupcake."

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

"To the living room. Don't you dare move."

Stephanie just watched him without saying a word when he walked out of the kitchen.

Ranger didn't move when he heard Joe and Babe talking in the kitchen.

"Dinner will be a little bit late tonight, Ranger. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not. I can come back later if it's going to be late."

"That is the better thing to do. Would you like one of us to call you when we're ready?"

"Yes, that's fine with me. I will see you then."

Joe walked him to the front door.

"I will see you again later tonight. Sorry if I came at the wrong time."

"That's okay. There was something we forgot to do earlier. That's why we are eating at a late time."

Ranger could tell Joe was lying to him, but didn't want to say anything about it.

"At least let me say good – bye to Babe before I go."

Joe didn't see any reason to respond to what he said.

Joe opened the front door for Ranger.

"We'll talk later when we finish what we forgot to do."

"There isn't any rush. Just take all the time you need."

After that he went to his car and drove away.

"That was a close one," Stephanie said with relief.

"Good thing I stopped myself from giving it away about those cupcakes."

"I know. Let's get started on them right now."

So that's exactly what they did.


	4. Chapter 4

Note: I believe this story looks complete to me, and enjoy this last part.

Stephanie and Joe checked the oven to see how the cupcakes were coming along. Joe was the one who peeked inside. Stephanie watched as he closed the oven.

"How are the cupcakes looking?" Stephanie asked.

"They seem like they need more time."

"Looks like you are understanding more about cooking than I am. You must have taken some cooking classes."

"A little, yes. My grandmother thought it was a good idea I should do so and learn more about it."

They left the kitchen and sat down on his couch. Stephanie liked that couch. It made her feel more comfortable that way.

"You always like my couch, don't you?" Joe asked.

"Yes. It somehow is more comfortable than my couch at my place."

"First we are talking about cupcakes, and now we're talking about my couch. Strange conversation to talk about my couch. It is nothing exciting to talk about."

When he finished saying that, they both kissed each other. This has been their first kiss they've had in a while.

About fifteen minutes later, the oven went off, telling them the cupcakes were ready.

"Now we can drop the subject on my couch. Let's take out the cupcakes and then we can start thinking about dinner," he told her.

"I know. Should we have a tiny bite of the cupcakes?" Stephanie asked.

"A little bite won't hurt," he answered.

"Okay."

She let Joe do the cooking because he was the one who is learning more about food. So this is why she let him do this.

Before he started, he said, "Let's take a little bite. It won't hurt to try a bit of it before we start cooking dinner."

She took one of the cupcakes and tasted a bit of the orange frosting.

He watched as she licked her fingers.

"How is it?"

"It's tasty," was her answer.

"At least we did something right for a first."

He decided to test it for himself and see if she was right.

"Now what do you think of it?" she asked.

"Not bad. Something sounds like it's missing something."

"What's that?"

"A real carrot. You know how he is."

She nodded. No question about it.

"Do you want me to call Batman?" Stephanie asked.

"If you want to. He will bring over a fruit salad with him tonight."

"I see. I will call him right now and tell him that he can come over right now. I hope he likes the cupcakes. Glad you liked them."

"Cupcake, I thought they were okay, but you seem to like them more than I do."

"I didn't catch that. At least I think you're doing just fine."

"Thank you. Maybe you should think about doing the same thing."

"Let me think about it."

"Good girl."

He watched as she left to call Ranger. She listened as he took his time to answer her call.

"Hello, Babe. Are you letting me come over or are you changing the time again?" Ranger asked.

"We aren't changing the time. You can come over now. Joe and I are done with what we wanted to do."

"I will be there shortly."

That was the end of their phone call. Stephanie returned to him in the kitchen.

"He said he's on his way," she told him.

"Good. Now we can get tonight over with, and that also counts for the cupcakes."

"Drats. You know how much of a sweet tooth I have."

"Yes, I do know."

A few minutes later, Ranger parked in the driveway. Stephanie went to answer the door.

"Hi, Babe. You want to invite me in?"

She saw he had a fruit salad with him, just like Joe had said earlier. He thought he smelled something.

"What is that I smell?"

"I'm not going to tell you. It's a surprise."

"A surprise, huh? I hope it better be a good one."

He didn't pay much attention to the smell of cupcakes that came out of the oven recently.

"Batman's here!" Stephanie said loudly.

Joe walked into the living room.

"Hello, Ranger."

"Hello, Joe."

"Why don't I take this into the kitchen for you?"

"I would appreciate that, Joe. It's for all three of us."

Joe and Stephanie weren't surprised. They thought it was nice of him to share his half of dinner.

"We should have our dinner soon, Cupcake."

"Okay. Do you want to give Batman his surprise now or wait until we're done eating?" Stephanie asked.

"When we're done eating," Joe answered.

Stephanie saw that made sense, but didn't bother saying anything. Now Ranger was starting to get the idea where this sweet smell is coming from.

"I think I smell something sweet in the kitchen, Babe."

"Of course you do. We're not telling what it is, though."

"Just surprise me."

Joe and Stephanie couldn't wait to hear what he had to say about the cupcakes, negative or not.

They did have small talk during their meal, but didn't say much after that. After the three of them finished eating, Joe helped Stephanie take the plates to the sink.

"Do you think he's ready now?" Stephanie whispered.

"I would like to think so, Cupcake," he whispered back.

"Batman, would you like your surprise now?" Stephanie called from the kitchen.

"Yes, Babe. Whenever you can."

He watched as Stephanie and Joe got out a small plate from the kitchen cupboard. When they both rejoined Ranger at the table, he thanked them. The fruit salad Ranger brought with him was gone, and not a bite was left, and that made him happy.

"Thank you for eating the fruit salad I bought over," Ranger told them.

He was just giving them a compliment, Stephanie told herself, and that made her feel good.

"You're welcome, Batman. We have your surprise."

He looked at the small plate full of cupcakes.

"What are these?" Ranger asked.

"Cupcakes," Joe answered.

"We have done this several times, Babe. Sweets don't work for me."

"I know, Batman, but this is different. It's even better than the last time we tried."

"Just take a bite. You might even like it," Joe said to Ranger.

"If you insist," he replied, grabbing a cupcake from the plate.

Before he did take the first bite, he asked, "What kind of cupcakes are these?"

"Taste for yourself to find out," Stephanie answered.

So they watched him try the first bite.

"Have you figured out the flavor?"

"Babe, I think I do."

"What is it?"

"Carrot."

She and Joe were happy he figured it out on the first try.

"We also left a baby carrot to go with it, Ranger," Joe told him.

"Thanks."

He finished the cupcake and grabbed for another one.

"Babe, these are excellent. No chocolate involved."

He ate the baby carrot first, and then the cupcakes.

"What grade do I get this time?"

"A. I think I'll take the rest of them home with me."

Stephanie gave Joe a look, saying, _'I knew we finally did something right. Now I can stop talking him into stuff like this in the future.'_

 _'Cupcake, I think you're right.'_

Ranger didn't pay much attention to what they were thinking.

Ranger got up from his seat.

"I've got to go. Thanks for inviting me over."

He gave Stephanie a kiss and she returned it.

"Do you want anymore cupcakes next time you come over?" Stephanie asked.

"I think this first time for cupcakes is enough for me, but thank you for trying. In the future, do me a favor."

"What?"

"Stop letting me try sweets when it doesn't work."

"I'll keep that in mind, Batman. See you next time."

Joe offered to walk Ranger to his car that he parked in the driveway.

Once again Ranger thanked Joe for the invitation to dinner.

"You're welcome. Let's do that again."

"Without the cupcakes."

Then he drove away.

"At least something worked for once tonight," Stephanie said.

Joe agreed.

"Are you ready to go home to feed Rex?"

"I think you're right."

Then he walked her to her car.

"You don't need to wait for me to drive away," Stephanie told him.

"I just like to make sure you leave safely."

"I appreciate that, but I can do that on my own."

When she unlocked the car, they gave each other one last kiss for the evening.

"Next time do me something, Cupcake."

"What?" Stephanie asked.

"No more conversations about my couch."

Stephanie laughed and said, "Okay. I won't talk about the couch anymore."

"Good. Talk to you later."

"Night, Joe."

Then she drove off.


End file.
